Late last week, five advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in federal court over Bonneville Power Administration’s recent decision to join Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) Markets+ (a power market operator). Plaintiffs say the agency’s decision to join Markets+ will increase the risk of blackouts during periods of high or extreme electricity demand because of the “many and complex” seams that power must be transferred across in the market as compared to the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) Extended Day-Ahead Market or a “no-action” alternative.
According to the lawsuit filed by the NW Energy Coalition, the Idaho Conservation League, the Montana Environmental Information Center, the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board and the Sierra Club, BPA’s decision to choose SPP over CAISO will lead to higher electric costs, inefficient operations between market seams and potentially the need to build more generating facilities.
The groups are also reporting that BPA’s decision violated the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.
In preparing to make its final decision, BPA said that while the CAISO’s EDAM may offer greater financial benefits compared to Markets+, overall the SPP market is a better fit for Bonneville based on market design elements covering governance, resource adequacy, greenhouse gas accounting and congestion revenue.
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